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Process or perish: quality control in mRNA biogenesis

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 12, pages 482–488 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Production of mature mRNAs that encode functional proteins consists of a highly complex pathway of synthesis, processing and export. Along this pathway, the mRNA transcript is scrutinized by quality control machinery at numerous steps. Such extensive RNA surveillance ensures that only correctly processed mature mRNAs are translated and precludes production of aberrant transcripts that could encode mutant or possibly deleterious proteins.

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Figure 1: Schematic of mRNA biogenesis and quality control.
Figure 2: Models for Mlp/Tpr protein function in mRNA quality control at the nuclear pore.
Figure 3: Models for NMD pathway in higher eukaryotes and nonstop decay pathway in yeast.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Corbett Laboratory, particularly M. Harreman and S. Kelly for their feedback and comments on the manuscript. We also thank S. Butler and L. Maquat for their willingness to provide information and answer questions.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine, 1510 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, 30322, Georgia, USA

    Milo B Fasken & Anita H Corbett

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Correspondence to Anita H Corbett.

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Fasken, M., Corbett, A. Process or perish: quality control in mRNA biogenesis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 12, 482–488 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb945

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